When You're Younger
by V. Tsai
Summary: My take on OVA 9, "The Stranger from 10 Years Later." Shinichi x Ran, a little angsty, quick oneshot.


**I am so unproud of this. I'd go so far as to say that I actually hate it. I'm pretty hesitant to post this, but I thought maybe someone would like it. Note: This is NOT NOT NOT my usual happy humor/romance. **

Shinichi threw open the door to the library, panting from his run. "R-" he started, but she cut him off.

"Don't turn on the lights... After all, I don't want Conan-kun to see me crying."

Shinichi was quiet as the soft sounds of Ran wiping her tears away commenced.

She turned within moments, tears still gathered at the corners of her eyes. "This place is filled with memories between Shinichi and me."

Stiffening slightly, Shinichi opened his mouth, closed it, and then finally said, "The marriage... will you... with Araide-sensei...? Don't do it! Don't get married!"

Ran blinked curiously, regarding the person she saw as Conan with mild interest. "Why not?"

"Because I... would be troubled by it," Shinichi answered softly. His hand twitched and his side, and he suddenly yanked off his glasses. "Because... I'm Kudou Shinichi! So please, don't get married!"

Instead of looking shocked, Ran simply sighed, a disdainful expression taking over her features. "You had to wait so long, Shinichi."

"Wh-What?" Shinichi stuttered, his fingers loosening to the extent that the arm of his glasses dangled precariously before crashing to the ground.

"I've known for a long time - maybe since I was sixteen, if I cared to count back. It's been clear. Plus Hattori-kun's constant slip-ups were a bit of an indication.

"But I turned a blind eye, Shinichi, and pretended that you were innocent little Edogawa Conan, my little brother who I could tell everything to. I was waiting for you to tell me with your voice, tell me on your own. Still, I made a promise to myself all those years ago, writing it down so I'd never forget.

"I promised myself that if you told me before I came to this library, on this date, at this time, I would forgive you. No matter if it was half a second before the set time, no matter if one of my feet was already inside.

"When the time came, I'll admit that I started crying a little. I was disappointed in you - with all your amazing deductions and brilliance, you still couldn't find me.

"But, tears or no tears, you came too late. So I will forget about ever even loving Kudou Shinichi, forget it all. I am moving on and you can't stop me. Now that I've let you go, I feel so much more free." Ran stretched, a smile spreading across her lips.

"I'm accepting Araide-sensei's proposal. You should move on as well. I believe that either Ai-chan or Ayumi-chan are interested in you. Maybe you can love a younger woman," she added as an afterthought.

Love.

"But Ran... I... I love you," Shinichi confessed, his head lowered forlornly.

"Hm, is that so?" Ran smiled. "Try to move on."

"But how do you just stop loving someone?!" he shouted, annoyed at her tranquility and composition. "You - it doesn't -"

"Once I decided to let you go, I realized that I haven't loved you for a while, Shinichi. It's surprisingly simple when you make that realization." Her eyes were dancing as she brushed past him.

And as she stood in the doorway, Ran smiled one last smile as she said in a voice low enough to go unnoticed, "When you're older... you'll understand, _Conan-kun."_

She left in a swish of hair, closing the door behind her. Shinichi stood paralyzed, his mind running in circles.

Suddenly the familiar pain hit, pulsating through his body like liquid fire, and Shinichi grabbed at his chest. _No!_

* * *

Conan woke up gasping. Off to the side, Haibara checked her watch. "Two hours and twenty minutes. That's twenty hours less than usual. It would seem this experiment ended in failure."

Staring at her, Conan managed, "Have you been observing the effect of the antidote?"

Haibara nodded. "Yes. Even though you did change back after taking the antidote, you remained unconscious and continued having nightmares. It is possible that -"

"I don't care! Haibara, I need to go!" Conan yelled, effectively startling the shrunken scientist into silence. I have to tell her! Otherwise...

Frowning puzzledly, Haibara watched as Conan sprinted out of the professor's house, disregarding the fact that he was still clad in his old clothes, which were far too large for him.

"What's up with him?"

* * *

Conan had been a nervous ball of energy, bouncing up and down until Ran finally called, "I'm home!" and opened the door, stepping inside.

"RAN!" he yelped, running for her.

"Conan-kun, what's wrong?" she gasped as he caught her off guard and tackled her legs.

"Ran, I need to tell you something important -"

"Wait for me to sit down, Conan-kun, I'm a little tired."

Conan hyperventilated as Ran sat down painfully slowly before saying, "I'm Kudou Shinichi!"

Blinking in surprise, Ran stared down at the person she believed to be her younger brother. The shock wore off, and a smile slid across her face as she leaned back and closed her eyes contentedly. "I'm so glad you told me, Shinichi. With your own voice and on your own."

Sighing in relief, Conan sat down beside her. "By any chance, did you have a date written down where you went to my library and would move on past a specific time?"

"Shinichi! Have you been looking through my stuff?!" Ran yelped, standing up to face the shrunken detective, who stared calmly back at her glare.

"No, actually I haven't."

"Then... how do you know?" An expression of bewilderment clouded her eyes.

"When you're younger... you'll understand, _Ran-chan,"_ Conan answered, and he smiled as Ran's face became even more confused.


End file.
